Archives for: May 2009, 13

This week I was surprised to learn, through a bit of a medical adventure, that a person can be regular and constipated at the same time. Meaning that things move along slowly, even though they generally keep moving. Without getting things in gear, I'm at risk for diverticulitis, colon cancer, and according to some sources, appendicitis. I was constipated most of my young life, thanks to celiac disease, and although it has improved significantly, I still consider it status quo and often think nothing of it.

I think this is a good turning point for me as far as my health goals go, and I've started to lose weight again, whereas I had stalled pretty well despite being quite compliant for a week or two. I'm now ingesting soluble fiber whenever possible (with lots of water). The doctor prescribed Miralax, but I prefer something natural, as opposed to eating some weird polymer. It takes a lot of natural soluble fiber to have the same effect, so I'm currently getting that from many sources.

The fiber section at the HFS is extensive...and few products say on the front what they actually are. So it took a while, but once I got past all the slightly scary products, I found some interesting things. (Don't forget NAP's arabinoglactan, which is probably the best of the best).

Fiber Xpress, inulin fiber, 2 grams of soluble fiber per packet. Derived from chicory root, with nothing added. There are other inulin fibers with artificial sweeteners and all kinds of additives, so I was happy to find this, and it's so convenient to use. It's taste/texture is quite undetectable in a liquid.

I also found soluble fiber from rice (which the label says usually gets rinsed away in the preparation of brown rice), that looked promising. There was also apple fiber powder, with pectin, although it was only 25% soluble fiber and 75% insoluble. I think soluble fiber is the best at first, at least initially.

Explorers can also have most glucomannan sources, including shirataki noodles (they say they're made from yams, but these are not the yams that are avoids, these are actually konjac, an explorer superfood). I didn't seen any glucomannan powder at the HFS, but have seen it online.

Chia seeds are also great. They can be ground or eaten whole, and used in a variety of different ways. Sprinkled on cereal or porridge is the way I usually eat it, but stay tuned to this blog for news on my first attempt at making chia crackers.

Of course nothing beats a bowl full of jerusalem artichokes, or some dandelion peasant soup!